Tag Archive | Bangladeshi American

Be sweet, be silly, ALWAYS BE MY BIBI, by Priyanka Taslim (YA book review)

Jun2
A Bangladeshi-American teen girl wearing large earrings, many bracelets and bright neck-scarf holds a glass of tea and winks over her heart-shaped rosy sunglasses in front of a terraced hillside and the book title Always Be My Bibi, by Priyana Taslim.

No phone, no fun, no boys,
bummer summer ahead –
until big sister’s big news!

Bibi the flirty fashionista tries to get around Abbu’s archaic rule about her not dating until older sister Halima is married, but the rising senior got caught going to prom and now is grounded for the summer.

Suddenly, big sis and Sunny announce their plans to marry this summer, in both families’ hometown in Bangladesh, and stay there! Is she giving up her dream of being an environmental lawyer?

Abbu is a famed entrepreneur in their Bangladeshi-American Muslim community in New Jersey, but the undisputed royalty in his hometown is Sunny’s family with their tea garden and resort here. So stiff, so formal, even the groom-to-be’s younger brother…

Despite their differences, Bibi and Sohel agree that their siblings aren’t right for each other and scheme to break them up, before it’s too late.

Oooh, a date with Sunny’s rich friend Akash is thrilling! Of course, they are properly chaperoned at all times, just like Halima and Sunny until their wedding.

Why aren’t Sunny and Sohel as close as Bibi and Halima are?
Why is Bibi beginning to enjoy being around Sohel at the tea gardens that he cares for so much?
Is it too late to stop making the engaged couple unhappy with each other?

When her beloved grandmother reveals a secret from her own university days, Bibi wants to solve the mystery, with Sohel’s help…

Releasing in paperback today! (6/2/26)

Got a favorite family wedding story?
**kmm

Book info: Always Be My Bibi / Priyanka Taslim. Salaam Reads, 2025. [author site https://priyankataslim.com/always-be-my-bibi/ ] [publisher site https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Always-Be-My-Bibi/Priyanka-Taslim/9781665901130] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is for Zahra and THE LOVE MATCH: who to choose? by Priyanka Taslim (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr30
book cover of The Love Match, by Priyanka Taslim. Published by Salaam Reads | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Zahra, her widowed mother, grandmother, and little sister and brother are squeezed into a tiny city apartment, thankfully in the largest Bangladeshi community in the US.

Every Muslim deshi auntie in Paterson joins her mom in trying to set up Zahra with the right young man. Everyone knows that marrying into a rich family will solve every problem, as the popular Bengali natok dramas show through music and extravagant dances.

But the recent grad wants true love, like a Jane Austen novel – someone who adores her for herself, not for her auspicious social connections to Bangladeshi royalty or her mother’s amazing dressmaking skills.

Enough that Zahra has to work for a year to support her family while her besties head away to college. For now, she’ll keep drafting her novel, and someday she’ll finally study creative writing at Columbia University, someday…

Oh dear! Amma agrees with the wealthy Emon family that their son Harun and Zahra are a perfect match!! The 18 year olds decide quickly that they’re not suited for each other, but will go on several dates (with chaperones) to make their parents happy.

Meanwhile, every shift working together at the Pakistani chai shop brings Zahra and cute Nayim closer. He’s just arrived here in New Jersey, is staying with the imam, and loves music (more fun than Harun’s model-building and bearded dragon).

It is nice to be friends with Harun, even if there’s no spark between them. It’s lovely to be with Nayim at the deshi community picnic, even though he won’t discuss his family back home. It’s hard to watch her best friends excitedly prepare to move away for college, so hard.

Nayim or Harun?
Fairy tale or practicality?
Secrets?! More secrets?!

Trying to balance family expectations with her own dreams makes Zahra wonder if this summer will be a happy Dhallywood natok or a tragic one!

What’s your favorite literary love match?
**kmm

Book info: The Love Match / Priyanka Taslim. Salaam Reads/ Simon & Schuster, 2023. [author site] [author interview] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.